The present invention relates to a product dispensing tray affording automatic product rotation, and more particularly to such a tray for use with product in an upright orientation.
Both wholesalers and retailers alike are aware of the need for product rotation to prevent xe2x80x9cfirst in, last outxe2x80x9d (FILO) dispensing of product, thereby to avoid product becoming stalexe2x80x94for example, expiration dates exceeded, carbonated beverages losing their fiz, product packaging becoming dirty or dull over time, etc. Milk, medicine, film and batteries are just a few of the many items now bearing expiration dates. The problem of product rotation is especially felt in retail establishments such as super markets, grocery stores and the like, where many relatively small items of a given product must be stored and displayed, often in a relatively confined space which does not lend itself to periodic manual rotation of the product. In any case, manual rotation of product, even where feasible, is labor-intensive and hence both expensive and time-consuming.
To avoid the need for manual rotation of product, various display and dispensing devices affording a virtual (non-manual) rotation of product have been developed. Such devices have not proven to be entirely satisfactory in use for one or more of a variety of reasons as follows:
(a) They must be used only for product capable of rolling along an inclined trackxe2x80x94e.g., cylindrical product.
(b) They must be wide enough to accommodate two side-by-side tracks so that product loaded onto one track passes over to a laterally adjacent track for removal by a purchaser.
(c) They require loading of the product from the back of the tray, such back loading of product often being impossible or impractical.
(d) They are limited in capacity to the number of products which can be stored on a track extending from the front of the display to the back of the display.
(e) Where they are two tracks, dispensing (unloading) of the product by the consumer is available only at the front of one of the tracks.
Accordingly, the need remains for a front-loading and front-dispensing virtual rotation (as opposed to manual rotation) apparatus for product display and dispensing which comprises a pair of vertically aligned incline tracks for supporting product thereon, the tracks being inclined in an orientation for fostering sliding movement of upright product relative thereto.
It is an object of the present invention to provide front-loading and front-dispensing virtual rotation apparatus for product display and dispensing.
Another object is to provide such apparatus which, in one preferred embodiment, may be used for sliding product there along in an upright orientation.
Yet another object is to provide such apparatus which, in one preferred embodiment, need not be substantially wider than the product itself.
A further object is to provide such apparatus which, in one preferred embodiment, can store at least about twice the amount of product which could extend along a track from the front of the apparatus to the rear of the apparatus.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide such apparatus wherein, in one preferred embodiment, both the top and bottom tracks may be used for dispensing product.
It is another object to provide such an apparatus which, in one preferred embodiment, is simple and inexpensive to manufacture, use and maintain.
It has now been found that the above and related objects of the present invention are obtained in a front-loading and front-dispensing drop rotation apparatus for product display and dispensing. The apparatus comprises a pair of vertically aligned inclined tracks for supporting product thereon, the tracks generally being inclined in an orientation for fostering product movement relative thereto. The apparatus includes a first upwardly and rearwardly inclined loading/dispensing track, and a second upwardly and rearwardly inclined dispensing track beneath the first track. The first track defines a drop aperture adjacent the rear end thereof enabling the passage of product from the first track onto the second track, whereby successive forcible loading of product onto the front of the first track causes the product to pass, under the influence of gravity, to the second track for display and dispensing.
Preferably the apparatus is for the display and dispensing of slidable upright product, wherein the tracks support product thereon in an upright orientation, the tracks being inclined for fostering sliding movement of the upright product relative thereto.
In a preferred embodiment, the apparatus additionally includes a vertically serpentine even plurality of at least two vertically aligned inclined intermediate tracks connecting the first track and the second track. The intermediate tracks include a first upwardly and rearwardly inclined intermediate track beneath the first track, and a second downwardly and rearwardly inclined intermediate track beneath the first intermediate track and above the second track. Each of the intermediate tracks adjacent a lower end thereof defines a respective drop aperture enabling the passage of product from an upper intermediate track onto a next lower intermediate track or the second track, whereby successive forcible loading of product onto the front of the first track causes the product to pass, under the influence of gravity and via successively lower intermediate tracks, to the front of the second track.
Preferably each track comprises a laterally spaced pair of upstanding sidewalls and a floor connecting the sidewalls, the floor being wider than the product in an upright orientation and the sidewalls defining a space therebetween wider than the product in an upright orientation. The drop aperture is in the floor, the drop aperture of the first track being adjacent a rear end of the floor.
In another preferred embodiment at least one of the first and second tracks has adjacent the front end thereof means for slowing forward product movement at the front end thereof without terminating the forward movement, means for displaying the forward product thereon in a substantially upright orientation, or a generally horizontal section which slows forward product movement at the front end thereof without terminating the forward movement and displays the lead product thereon in a substantially upright orientation. Preferably each of the first and second tracks has one such horizontal section, the horizontal section being configured and dimensioned to substantially support only the lead product thereon.